Max Verstappen could prevent Lewis Hamilton from winning his fifth and record-breaking eighth Formula 1 title in a row this year. The Dutchman is ahead of the Briton and has been in the lead for most of this season, be it race wins, pole positions or laps.
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But there is one thing when Verstappen is not ahead of Hamilton. And that’s the money he takes home as salary. Since Lewis Hamilton ousted Fernando Alonso for the most salary in 2014, he’s consistently been the highest-paid driver on the grid.
According to Forbes, Lewis Hamilton will be paid at least $ 59 million that could be converted into $ 62 million thanks to bonuses.
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Second, Max Verstappen will receive $ 30 million for him with additional bonuses that potentially turn into $ 42 million.
Why Lewis Hamilton earns almost twice as much as Max Verstappen
The reason Hamilton makes so much more money than Verstappen is quite simple. His name and brand are much more established and well known than the Red Bull driver.
Hamilton has been the flagship of Formula 1 for almost a decade; The 36-year-old is the unofficial brand ambassador for Formula 1, especially in the USA.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 06: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE, SPECIAL RATES APPLY) (LR) Janelle Monae, Lewis Hamilton, Serena Williams and Harry Styles attend the 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on March 06. May, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Kevin Mazur / MG19 / Getty Images for The Met Museum / Vogue)
The Mercedes driver can be seen regularly on talk shows, games from other sports and pop culture events. He’s also regularly featured on social media with big names and celebrities.
Because of his friendship and engagement with other celebrities and pop culture, Hamilton has a very high profile fan base. It names that regularly appear in the headlines. Whether Serena Williams, Justin Bieber or Neymar Jr, Lewis Hamilton has the “best fans”.
Right now he’s making $ 12 million in commercials alone, while Verstappen makes a meager $ 1 million in his comparison. All of this makes Lewis Hamilton a very marketable brand, and the first and most important he is associated with is his Mercedes AMG team.
So that he earns double his rival is not all that unusual.
Hamilton’s name is mentioned?
But like everything else, this tide also changes. Hamilton recently fell behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in a global popularity poll. And now that he’s nearing the other half of his career, his popularity should ideally decline, and with it his marketability.
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But as with everyone, the greats of all time, age, career and ideality have no bearing on them.
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Much like Lewis Hamilton himself says and has proven in Brazil – ‘still we rise’.
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The post Lewis Hamilton vs. Max Verstappen salary comparison: why does Mercedes pay almost twice as much as Red Bull F1? first appeared on monter-une-startup.
